


Their Kairos Moment

by Must_Love_Books



Series: The Police Files [1]
Category: Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith, Strike (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Police, F/M, Flirting, Mutual Pining, Sergeant Robin Ellacott
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-26 02:48:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30099141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Must_Love_Books/pseuds/Must_Love_Books
Summary: Robin is divorced, working as a Police Sergeant, and has just moved to London. Enter Cormoran Strike...
Relationships: Robin Ellacott/Cormoran Strike
Series: The Police Files [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2222802
Comments: 30
Kudos: 45





	1. Pull yourself together

Sergeant Robin Ellacott nervously smoothed her new navy blue corduroy skirt over her legs, sucking in a succession of deep breaths as she did so. Her hands trembled with nerves, her stomach contracted and eased, her heart pounded in her chest. She couldn’t believe she was finally going to meet him after all these weeks of flirting and build up. She just hoped he wasn't going to ruin all the anticipation by having a limp lettuce handshake, or halitosis.  


—-

Cormoran Strike crouched slightly in front of the microwave in his kitchen, holding a tie up to his neck then taking it away, trying to decide if he should wear it or not. He finally decided not - yes, casual was better, not too formal. He ran his fingers through his unruly curls, all the while knowing he was fighting a losing battle at trying to neaten their appearance. He chuckled at himself self-deprecatingly, as he realised his hands were shaking with nerves - no, he told himself firmly, not nerves; anticipation. After all these weeks of steadily escalating flirtation, he was finally going to meet her. He rolled his eyes at himself in the glass of the microwave door ‘Pull yourself together you daft bastard, you’re not a fucking virginal teenager anymore!’ he muttered.  


—-

Sergeant Vanessa Ekwensi came bursting through the outer door of the ladies, giving a squeal of excitement when she saw Robin standing nervously in front of the mirror ‘Oh my God!’ Vanessa shrieked ‘he’ll be here soon!’

Robin felt her anxiety and heart rate increase still further. ‘Really not helping with the nerves here, Vanessa!’ she exclaimed. Robin would much rather be meeting Cormoran Strike for the first time away from the gleeful, excited eyes of her best friend and colleague, but as he was coming to the station to consult about a case, she really had no choice in the matter. ‘Vanessa, can you please not be there when Cormoran comes up?’ Robin pleaded. ‘I’m already so nervous, and knowing you’re going to be there listening to my every word and watching my every move is freaking me out!’

Vanessa opened her mouth to make a jokey rejoinder, but something about the tension she saw in Robin’s face stopped the words in her throat, and she suddenly felt very guilty. ‘Oh no, I’m so sorry!’ she said warmly, wrapping her arms around Robin and giving her a tight squeeze. ‘Have I been going overboard?’

Robin’s lips raised in a tiny smile. ‘Just a little bit!’ she said, rolling her eyes. ‘It’s just that we’ve been talking about this moment for days now and it’s just a bit ... much.’ She blew her fringe away from her forehead, which was definitely feeling prickly with sweat.

Vanessa nodded meekly. ‘I’ll make myself scarce, don’t worry’ she promised. Robin squeezed her shoulder in gratitude, then took one last look at herself in the mirror, before gripping the door handle and exiting into the open plan offices of the police station.  


—-

Strike was signing in at the reception desk when Eric Wardle clapped him on the back, giving his usual greeting of ‘Hello Gooner!’. Strike turned and grinned at his friend, giving his more muted greeting of a nod and ‘Wardle’.

Eric looked Strike up and down, smirking. ‘You’re a bit dressed up for coming in to see me - you got a hot date afterwards?’. Willing himself not to flush, Strike affected to look as though he had no idea why Wardle thought his clothes worth mentioning. He had debated whether wearing his new, beautifully cut trousers and the velvety-soft cotton shirt his sister Lucy had bought him for Christmas was worth the ribbing he’d undoubtedly get; he’d decided looking nice and feeling confident for his first meeting with Robin was more important than protecting himself from Wardle's sarcasm.

Wardle clapped him on the back again, before saying ‘Ready?’ and leading the way to the lifts. 

Strike felt as though there were many layers of meaning to that one word, as he followed his friend, nerves coiling in his stomach like a snake.


	2. Sorry, who am I speaking to?

It had begun innocently enough - Strike had phoned the station looking to speak to DI Eric Wardle, and Robin happened to be using the corner of his unattended desk to juggle a pile of files into some semblance of order. The sound of an unanswered phone ringing was one of her pet hates, so she grabbed the receiver almost without thinking. ‘DI Wardle’s phone’ she intoned, still trying to get her files into alphabetical order - for some reason her grasp of the alphabet had failed her today.

There was a slight pause before a deep, rich voice sighed in her ear ‘Oh, is he not about?’.

‘No, sorry.’ Robin replied. ‘Can I take a message?’

‘Can you tell him Cormoran called? He’s got my number’.

Robin’s heart gave a little throb in her chest - she’d never spoken to a famous person before, and Cormoran Strike was certainly a famous name in their line of work. Although he tried to avoid being photographed to protect his undercover work, Robin had seen snatched paparazzi photos of him, usually with an impossibly beautiful model or celebrity on his arm, in celebrity magazines at the hairdresser. His fame had increased still further in recent weeks, with his audacious capture of a murderer, ably assisted by his famous half-brother.

She’d seen him from afar when he’d come to the station to meet up with Wardle, but hadn’t had the courage to introduce herself - something about his demeanour seemed forbidding and closed off, although Vanessa assured her that he was really very approachable and kind. She'd had the sensation of feeling his eyes on her as she'd moved around the room that day, but every time she'd glanced in his direction he was giving Wardle his full attention, so thought she must have imagined it. 

‘Congratulations on catching Owen Quine’s killer’ Robin blurted out, whilst simultaneously cringing and telling herself to shut up. ‘That was ... really amazing’.

There was a nonplussed little silence from the other end of the line. ‘Oh thanks,’ Cormoran said eventually ‘yes, that was a challenging one. Sorry, who am I speaking to?’

Robin blushed bright red and cleared her throat. ‘Sergeant Robin Ellacott, I’ve just transferred here from Yorkshire’. She only just stopped herself from adding a ‘Sir’ to the end of her sentence - what the fuck was wrong with her?!

She could hear his grin through the phone ‘Yes, I could tell by your vowels - how are you finding it? I hope Wardle’s being nice to you - let me know if he isn’t, and I’ll sort him out.’

Robin giggled throatily, she liked the idea of Cormoran Strike casting himself in the role of her protector. Her voice came out lower and - yes - sexier than usual. ‘Everyone’s been very kind, thank you. Um, perhaps I’d better take your phone number, you know, just in case Wardle’s misplaced it?’ Robin's heart pounded - surely he’d see through such a blatant attempt to get his phone number?

There was another pause - Robin listened to Cormoran breathing on the other end of the line, trying to control her own breathing which sounded harsh and rasping to her own ears.

Cormoran’s voice came down the receiver, but pitched lower and quieter than before - it made her pulse throb and her erogenous zones tingle.

‘Are you asking to take down my particulars, Sergeant Ellacott?’.


	3. We meet at last

Ever since that day in January when he had first spoken to Robin Ellacott, Strike found himself wishing that Eric Wardle would be away from his desk every time he rang him, just so he might speak to her again.

Of course he’d noticed her in the station when he’d come to meet Wardle in late December - he'd been distracted by a gleam of red-gold hair out of the corner of his eye, shining like a halo in the sunlight coming through the glass. When he saw the hair was attached to a face with gorgeous bone structure, a generous mouth and a slim but curvy figure, he was hooked. His eyes followed her around the room covertly, looking away whenever it seemed she might glance in his direction.

As she finally turned away to move out of the offices towards the lifts, he allowed his eyes to follow her, openly. Wardle turned his head to see what had attracted Strike’s attention and shoved him on the chest as he barked out a laugh ‘She’s way too young for you, Gooner!’. Strike grinned good naturedly – he knew he’d been sussed.

‘Not seen her around here before – what’s her name?’ he asked.

‘I’ve already told you, she’s too young for you.’ Wardle said, a less jokey note in his voice this time.

Strike feigned innocence. ‘What?’ he said, raising his eyebrows. ‘I just want to know who the new member of your team is, that’s all’.

Wardle looked at him out of the corner of his eye, clearly indicating he didn’t believe a word of it.

‘Robin. _Sergeant _Robin Ellacott.’ he finally said, reluctantly, but emphasising the word ‘Sergeant’ meaningfully.__

__Strike nodded, repeating ‘Robin’ softly in his head._ _

__‘She’s just transferred here from Yorkshire.’ Wardle continued. ‘She’s good – naturally inquisitive, you know?’._ _

__‘Mmm. Right, let's have a look at this statement then, shall we?’ said Strike, leading the way to Wardle’s desk. He half-hoped Robin might reappear, so he could wangle an introduction to her, but no such luck. However, his luck had changed a few weeks later, when she answered Wardle’s phone in his absence._ _

__Her warm soft voice, throaty chuckle and what seemed to be an obvious attempt to get his number (what sort of a detective would Wardle be if he lost Strike’s phone number?!) all combined to stir his libido and pique his interest._ _

__Since that day, their flirting gradually escalated, always keeping on the right side of teasing and gentle, but with undeniable intent and interest from both sides._ _

__Strike had resolved that he was going to ask her out – how could he not – but Wardle seemed determined to keep him away from the station, always arranging to meet Strike at his own office, or at cafés. Strike wanted to do it in person, not over the phone – for some reason it felt important to ask her out ‘properly’ – by which he supposed he meant in a way that his Uncle Ted would approve._ _

__Strike’s innate desire for privacy forbade him saying anything to Wardle about his intentions, but he was well aware it was probably a regular topic of conversation between Wardle and Vanessa – the knowing looks both threw his way whenever they saw him made him feel sure of that._ _

__But today … today Strike was coming in to chat to Wardle and Ellacott about a case they were working on together, so they were finally going to meet face to face. He surreptitiously wiped his palms on the sides of his trousers in the lift; no-one liked a clammy handshake. His eyes flicked to the floor numbers counting up on the display as the lift ascended, silently urging the lift to go quicker, so the interminable waiting would be at an end._ _

__He was aware Wardle was watching him from the corner of his eye, a sardonic grin on his face. ‘You’ve really got it bad, you sad bastard.’ he said, but not unkindly._ _

__Finally, finally, the lift doors opened and they were making their way across the open plan offices, Strike’s eyes seeking out and finding Robin’s as they went. He could see the tension radiating from her as her face flushed prettily and she licked her lips nervously. His heart felt like it was about to burst from his chest, his ears were buzzing and his pulse was racing, but as he drew closer to her a feeling of calm peace descended over him – this was their Kairos moment, he could feel it._ _

__

__They both smiled shyly at each other, holding their right hands out simultaneously for a handshake. Electricity seemed to course up their arms as their hands touched, spreading throughout their whole bodies, warming and exciting every nerve ending._ _

__

__‘We meet at last.’ Cormoran said, smiling into Robin’s eyes with a soft, yet heated, gaze, and suddenly the world seemed brighter, and full of possibilities._ _

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclosure - I’d originally planned to have them meeting in person, instant attraction, flirting etc. Strike was going to ask Robin out and she would say ‘I’m married’. But I just couldn’t do it!


End file.
